Our proprietary StartStrong Toolkit is designed specifically to help you get the most from your first session (and beyond)
The result of more than 20 years and 83,000+ client matches.
StartStrong is our free toolkit for anyone booking with The Hart Centre. A little gentle preparation, so your first session feels less daunting and gives you more.
Booking counselling is a brave thing to do, and if you are feeling a bit nervous about the first appointment, you are in very good company. Most people are.
You might be wondering what you are supposed to say, whether you will get emotional, or whether you have left things too late. Those questions are completely normal, and you do not need to have any of the answers before you walk in. That is exactly what the session is for.
StartStrong is simply there to take some of the guesswork out of that first day.
StartStrong is short, warm and easy to dip into. Inside you will find:
There is no right way to do any of it, and it is not homework. It is just there to help you feel a little more settled, and a little clearer, before you begin.
The Hart Centre is Australia’s largest relationship counselling network. Over the years, our practitioners have sat with thousands of couples and individuals on their very first day.
StartStrong is built from what we have actually seen help people settle in and get more from that first conversation. It is not theory. It is the practical, human stuff that makes walking through the door a little easier.
There is no pressure to complete any of it. Read the whole thing, glance at one page, or leave it sitting in your inbox entirely. However you choose to use it is exactly right.
StartStrong comes free with any Hart Centre booking. When you book, we will send it straight to your inbox, ready whenever you are.
To get started – search for a therapist here, or get expertly matched by our team.
A collection of our most asked questions from couples clients and individual clients, about couples therapy, how we match, our guarantee, and how we support you to get the most out of your therapy sessions.
The first session is mostly about getting to know you both and understanding what has brought you in. Your counsellor will ask some gentle questions, give you both room to speak, and start to get a sense of what you would like to work on together. It is a conversation, not a test, and you can share as much or as little as feels right on the day.
A little reflection beforehand can go a long way. It helps to think about what has brought you here, what you would most like to feel different, and what matters most to you. Beyond that, there is nothing to organise and nothing you need to have figured out. StartStrong walks you through a few gentle prompts so you can do this in your own time before you arrive.
StartStrong keeps things simple and warm. It includes a plain-language guide to what happens in a first session, a few gentle prompts to help you get clear on what has brought you here and what you would like to change, a short exercise to name your priorities, and some words to help you talk to your partner about coming along. There are no right answers, and nothing you have to complete.
The right fit matters more than almost anything else in counselling. You want someone you both feel comfortable with, who understands what you are going through and creates a space where you can be honest. As Australia’s largest relationship counselling network, we match you with a practitioner suited to your situation through our HartMatch™ process, so you are not left trying to work it out on your own.
For many couples, yes. Counselling can help you break unhelpful patterns, feel closer, and make decisions with more clarity, whether you are working through a specific rupture or simply want to reconnect. It tends to work best when both people are willing to engage and when you have the right counsellor, which is exactly what we take care to get right.
Couples counselling is generally not covered by Medicare, as Medicare rebates are designed for individual mental health treatment rather than relationship counselling. Some private health funds offer rebates depending on your level of cover and the practitioner’s registration, so it is worth checking with your fund. When you enquire, we are always upfront about fees, so there are no surprises.
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